Arcadian Spartan
by M.E.S109
Summary: Halsey is in the prowl for subjects. Subjects for her legendary Spartan program. Join Tie, an eight year old Lumerian who is set to become one of man kinds greatest protectors, as he faces down the greatest threat mankind has ever faced.


**Chapter 1**

**Date**: April 19th, 2517  
**Time:** 0900  
**System:** Procyon  
**Planet:** Arcadia  
**Location:** Serth, Lemuria

Dr. Halsey raised her sunglass clad eyes from the glowing blue data pad in her hands and observed the approaching man. The man strolled down the small dirt path, his shoes crunching against the small rocks that dotted its surface. He sank down into one of the chairs on Halsey's left and whipped out a small blue water bottle as the stench of sweat and BO threatened to overwhelm her.  
"Thirsty already Lieutenant?" Halsey asked, arching one eyebrow and screwing up her nose "Perhaps I picked the wrong man."  
"No ma'am," the man wheezed in reply, he took a large swig from his bottle before continuing "I just need a minute... Not used to the heat, that's all."  
Halsey said nothing, but she knew exactly what he meant. Arcadia was a tropical planet and in the early morning in the middle of the jungle the heat was intense. Halsey herself was sweating madly, her face was red and her temples were streaked with sweat. But at least she wasn't suffering as bad as the Lieutenant.  
The Lieutenants face had gone a bright red and beads of sweat were constantly forming on his face and rolling down his neck, only to be caught by the draft from his makeshift fan, a cardboard menu that he had scooped off of the low table in front of him.  
"Right then, down to business," Halsey began, leaning forwards onto the metal table and relishing its cool touch "where's the subject?"  
The Lieutenant sat up straight, his military discipline overriding his common sense for a moment. He instantly realised his mistake and quickly slouched in his chair, it wouldn't do to have the locals see a civilian acting like a soldier.  
"Right over there ma'am," he replied, pointing with one hand and continuing to fan himself with the other "he's been there all morning."  
Halsey followed the sweaty hand across the tropical clearing with her eyes and towards its target. The clearing itself was about twenty meters in diameter, with the majority of the settlement stretching off into the jungle behind Halsey and the Lieutenant.  
Numerous ferns, grasses and other lush green plants threatened to invade the clearing, lurking just at its edges as though they were waiting. A small dirt path, the same one used by the Lieutenant, meandered through the left side of the clearing, looping around from the hidden village and connecting with the small cafe that Halsey was currently occupying.  
On the far side of the clearing was the subject of the lieutenants point. It rose up in a sheer cliff which was pockmarked with holes, littered with boulders and covered by moist green moss, most of which was hidden by the tropical trees that grew in front of it. Cutting through the middle of the cliff was a shimmering blue waterfall that spilled over its lip and cascaded into a small pool below.  
"You're it!" called a young voice, belonging to one of the many children that surrounded the water fall.  
Squeals of delight followed as the small group of children dispersed, scrambling over the slippery rocks and splashing into the cool pool of water.  
Halsey felt a sudden stab guilt, was she really going to deny one of these children a happy future? She banished the thoughts from her head, brushing aside a strand of her blond hair and wishing it was shorter.  
She glanced down at the data pad and appraised the profile that lit up its screen. An eight year old, male face stared back at her, it's short blonde hair and bright blue eyes confined by the straight lines of its picture frame.  
The face was smiling a toothy smile, showing plenty of white teeth and radiating happiness. Halsey felt another pang of guilt. She banished it again and instead focused in the words and numbers that detailed the child's abilities.  
The Lieutenant sat in silence while Halsey read, wishing that he could run across the clearing and hurl himself into the pool like so many of the children were doing. He watched them with envy as they pushed each other into the water, dunked their friends heads and scrambled over the rocks.  
"There he is!" the Lieutenant announced, loud enough to draw a startled glance from a nearby waitress and a poisonous one from Dr. Halsey.  
Halsey lowered her data pad and searched the jumble of rocks by the waterfall for her subject. She spotted him, standing on the highest rock and overlooking the small group of kids scrambling around below wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts.  
He yelled something and several of the children scrambled up the rocks towards him. Halsey held her breath, perhaps she wouldn't have to test him, perhaps he would prove himself.  
He was tackled by another boy and pulled, laughing all the way, into the pool below. Halsey sighed, her cool breath washing over her hands and consulted the data pad once again.  
"It says here that he can climb." she stated, sounding not the least bit impressed.  
"That's right," the Lieutenant confirmed, nodding his head "kid's like a monkey, I've seen him scale that cliff face a dozen times this week alone."  
"That cliff face?" Halsey asked with a hint of surprise in her voice "That must be a least ten meters high. How does he get back down?"  
"Further down the wall there was a rock slide," the Lieutenant informed her "he just hops down it like a mountain goat."  
Halsey considered her options, trying to find a suitable excuse for excluding the boy from her project.  
"Show me," she ordered, her mind decided "set up the test."  
"Already set ma'am," the Lieutenant replied, he had known she was coming and the sooner his job was done the sooner he could get out of the heat "I did it this morning, before the sun rose."  
"Good job," Halsey murmured, pushing herself out of her seat and cursing the heat "I shouldn't be gone for long."  
She crossed the clearing, her runners crushing several dry leaves and her civilian clothes doing little to shield her from the intense heat. She walked among the group of children who continued their games around her, paying no attention to the new comer.  
"Halt!" cried Halsey's subject, he was standing on a rock to her left and had adopted a military posture "Who goes there!"  
One of his friends made what he thought was an intimidating face at Halsey but was soon distracted as another child threw water at him.  
"Oh no one important." Halsey chuckled, watching the children around her "My names Catherine, what's yours?"  
The boy slouched and hopped down from the rock, which was two meters high. Halsey raised her eyebrows in surprise, if she had tried that she would have shattered her knees.  
"My names Tie!" the boy proclaimed, puffing out his chest "And I'm the boss around here!"  
"No you're not!" Cried a group of children who were perched on the rocks above.  
They dumped a bucket of water down on top of Tie's head and he squealed with laughter, hopping out of the way just in time.  
"Heads!" Halsey said, using a term she had heard from other children, as she threw a small bean bag at Tie's head.  
Tie's head whipped around at Halsey's signal. His eyes flickered in fright as he saw the fast approaching bean bag and his hand blurred upwards, snatching the projectile out of the air barely a second before it hit him.  
"Good reflexes." Halsey thought, mentally ticking off one of her requirements.  
"What'd you do that for?!" Tie asked, lowering his hand and accusing her with his eyes.  
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me." Halsey apologised, taking a step towards him in an effort to keep his attention, he was becoming distracted by the other children's games.  
"I actually came here to ask for a favour." she continued.  
"What sort of favour?" Tie asked, his eight year old features suddenly became cautious, his mother had always warned him to be wary of strangers.  
"I left my purse up there," Halsey said, indicating towards the top of the pile of rocks "I was hoping you could get it for me."  
"How did it get up there?" Tie questioned, suspicious of the doctor.  
"I was rock climbing," she replied "but I hurt my foot, can you get it for me?"  
"Sure!" The child agreed, buying the lie "Watch this!"  
Tie tuners on the spot and set off towards the cliff face at a sprint and what happened next made Halsey's eyes widen in surprise.  
Tie jumped, his foot pushing off of a rock in midair, and propelled himself onto the top of a nearby rock. That was three meters high. He continued to run, skipping over pools of water and hopping across uneven surfaces.  
Tie reached the base of the cliff in ten seconds and ran up it, his bare feet finding plenty of purchase on the rough surface. He set his hands to work now, grasping and grabbing, hauling himself up the rock face, propelled by his legs until he was at the top.  
Halsey breathed out, the whole exercise had lasted about two minutes. She watched, her breath held as the child hunted up and down the lip of the cliff. His had shot into a bush and returned, a small purse clenched within it.  
"Damn it." Halsey breathed, as Tie set off towards the rock slide.  
She returned to the lieutenant, his face was reflecting the suns rays like a mirror now and sat down next to him.  
"The test was a success." She said, her face grim and her tone simple.  
The lieutenant shifted in his seat, not sure what to say.  
"You know," he ventured, breaking the awkward silence "we don't have to choose him, we could always pick another-"  
"No," she broke in "it has to be him. Signal the capture squads. We do it tonight."


End file.
